Twelve-year-old Hilja and her little brother Antti have been forced to leave everyone and everything behind. They are just two of the many Finnish children sent to Sweden to escape the war — to a life without their mother, father, and siblings.

After three days of travel and two weeks in quarantine, they arrive in the small village of Vesene in southwestern Sweden. Despite Hilja’s promise to her mother to always look after her brother, they are separated at the train station. Even so, Hilja soon begins to appreciate her new life on the farm with Aunt Maria and the quiet Artur. What she does not know is that the family is hiding a dark secret…

“Maria Bouroncle immerses us in a moving tale of displaced children, where community and compassion prevail. A tender and transformative story—tragic, poignant, yet profoundly hopeful.”

Johanna Eriksson, Director of Scandinavian Studies, University of Michigan

MARIA BOURONCLE is a Swedish author. An economist by profession, she spent over 25 years in international development before publishing her first novel in 2018. Her work has been translated into several languages, and The Girl with a Nametag is currently required reading in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Michigan.

Twelve-year-old Hilja and her little brother Antti have been forced to leave everyone and everything behind. They are just two of the many Finnish children sent to Sweden to escape the war — to a life without their mother, father, and siblings.

After three days of travel and two weeks in quarantine, they arrive in the small village of Vesene in southwestern Sweden. Despite Hilja’s promise to her mother to always look after her brother, they are separated at the train station. Even so, Hilja soon begins to appreciate her new life on the farm with Aunt Maria and the quiet Artur. What she does not know is that the family is hiding a dark secret…

“Maria Bouroncle immerses us in a moving tale of displaced children, where community and compassion prevail. A tender and transformative story—tragic, poignant, yet profoundly hopeful.”

Johanna Eriksson, Director of Scandinavian Studies, University of Michigan

MARIA BOURONCLE is a Swedish author. An economist by profession, she spent over 25 years in international development before publishing her first novel in 2018. Her work has been translated into several languages, and The Girl with a Nametag is currently required reading in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Michigan.

Twelve-year-old Hilja and her little brother Antti have been forced to leave everyone and everything behind. They are just two of the many Finnish children sent to Sweden to escape the war — to a life without their mother, father, and siblings.

After three days of travel and two weeks in quarantine, they arrive in the small village of Vesene in southwestern Sweden. Despite Hilja’s promise to her mother to always look after her brother, they are separated at the train station. Even so, Hilja soon begins to appreciate her new life on the farm with Aunt Maria and the quiet Artur. What she does not know is that the family is hiding a dark secret…

“Maria Bouroncle immerses us in a moving tale of displaced children, where community and compassion prevail. A tender and transformative story—tragic, poignant, yet profoundly hopeful.”

Johanna Eriksson, Director of Scandinavian Studies, University of Michigan

MARIA BOURONCLE is a Swedish author. An economist by profession, she spent over 25 years in international development before publishing her first novel in 2018. Her work has been translated into several languages, and The Girl with a Nametag is currently required reading in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Michigan.